IHRA not ready to reduce passes by 320 feet

MARTIN -- Top Fuel rookie Spencer Massey of Dallas took a good look down the Martin Dragway quarter-mile after arriving at U.S. 131 Motorsports Park for the first time Thursday.

"Since we are a still a quarter-mile, does that mean we are the fastest sport in the world right now?" said Massey, 25, who is second in the International Hot Rod Association's Top Fuel season point standings. "I would have to think so, until (the National Hot Rod Association) can run 327 mph in the 1,000 foot."

The NHRA is drag racing's most powerful and lucrative sanctioning body. The NHRA has a 24-race schedule with ESPN2 coverage for each event, and it has the most sponsors and stars.

But drag racing purists longing for their traditional 1,320-foot Nitro fix will only quench it this summer with the IHRA, which is completing its 27th annual Northern Nationals today at Martin. Eliminations are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.

The NHRA announced that it was reducing its Nitro Top Fuel and Funny Car passes from 1,320 feet to 1,000 feet after Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta of Ypsilanti was killed during a qualifying pass in Englishtown, N.J. in June. NHRA called it a temporary move while its investigation into Kalitta's death continues. NHRA drivers were given 320 extra feet of shutdown area to slow down their 300 mph-plus cars.

IHRA has no plans of trimming its tracks, though. Massey pointed out that Martin already has plenty of shutdown area -- about a quarter-mile of it, and he added that dragstrips throughout the IHRA circuit are suited to handle the speeds.

And at San Antonio, where the shutdown area is limited, the series already races on a 1,000-foot track. That was the case even before Kalitta was killed.

Besides, the NHRA Nitro cars are traditionally faster over the quarter-mile, considering they break 300 mph on a more consistent basis, so they need every foot that they can get.

"(The NHRA) didn't increase their shutdown area to give them more room to stop," said Mike Perry, the IHRA's director of publicity. "They do run a little faster over there, and their problem was that motors were blowing up and tires were coming apart after the 1,000 foot. So by shutting them off at the 1,000 foot mark, they are trying to prevent motors from exploding and tires from coming apart.

"If Scott's motor hadn't blown up, there wouldn't have been a problem. The motor blew up and he couldn't get to the brake and he went off the end of the track."

While drivers across the NHRA expressed support for the NHRA's dramatic move, an informal poll among IHRA drivers revealed that they don't feel such a move is needed in the IHRA.

Dale Creasy, the IHRA's two-time defending Funny Car champion, said he prefers 1,320-foot passes, too. Creasy's left leg was crushed when his drive line broke in Edmonton in July, and Creasy is out for the season.

"The IHRA and the NHRA's cars are similar and the rules are similar, and both have wonderful track safety teams," Creasy said. "They did a great job with me.

"Safety comes first. I'm glad to do whatever they ask me to do. At this point, the IHRA doesn't feel it's necessary to shorten their races, and I don't have any problem with that. We feel that we have plenty of shutdown area (in the IHRA)."

Perry added that the IHRA will be paying close attention to the NHRA's findings, even though it will not be taking any similar precautions.

"What the NHRA is doing is a study, and they are going to do it for the rest of the year. They haven't made a permanent change," Perry said. "They are going to see what their studies find and see if it is going to make a difference or not. Of course, we are going to look at what the NHRA does and glom their information."

Top Fuel standout Terry McMillen predicted a safer future for all drag racers.

"The loss of Scott was just as tragic as could be," McMillen said. "But if there is a good thing that has come out of this is that all the sanctioning bodies, including NASCAR, are committed to building a better race car. Out of the tragic loss, there is going to be some great things down the road."